Alison Stewart: You're listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Reading books translated from other languages can be a great way to learn more about a country and a culture. Thanks to the New York Public Library, e-copies of 12 translated books will soon be available with no wait times to any anyone with a library card. That's just one aspect of its annual World Literature & Arts Festival, running from April 15th to the 30th. There will also be author talks, panel discussions, poetry readings, and music performances, all aimed at celebrating the rich and diverse art created by people around the world and by the immigrant communities here in New York.

Joining me now to preview the festival and to walk us through this year's book lists of translated books is Erica Parker, associate director of adult cultural programming at the NYPL. Erica also works with us very closely on our Get Lit Book Club. Hi, Erica.

Erica Parker: Hey, Alison. How is it going?

Alison Stewart: It's going well. Tell us what the inspiration was behind this festival and what are its goals?

Erica Parker: In a couple words, our communities, that's what really inspired the festival. The library, of course, is home to stories from all around the world, stories of our immigrant communities right here in New York City and beyond. The festival is a real moment to shine a spotlight on the storytellers and the stories.

Alison Stewart: Why do you think people should be reading translated literature?

Erica Parker: I think it's really important to read translated literature right now because in libraries we have this idea that books can be one of three things. They can be a mirror, they can be a window, or they can be a sliding glass door. This means that books can mirror your experience back to you, or they can give you a window into someone else's experience, or they can invite you to imagine a different world, like in a fantasy book. Works in translation can be wonderful windows into the experience of others, or, in some cases, they can also mirror back an experience someone might have and didn't realize others had too.

Alison Stewart: Listeners, we want to hear from you. What do you like about reading translated literature? What do you recommend? What's a translated book you'd like to recommend? Our phone lines are open if you want to weigh in. Our number is 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. Before we get to your book offerings, I want to talk about events. One of the panel discussions during this festival will focus on telling migrant stories. Who will be speaking on the panel, and when is that happening?

Erica Parker: That one is happening at Bronx Library center and it's featuring Álvaro Enrigue, Keila Vall de la Ville, Xita Rubert, and Isabel Domínguez Seoane. It's going to be really special because the conversation is going to be happening in Spanish with live interpretation available in English. It's going to be available for speakers of both languages. We really wanted to create a space for people to be able to come together. That event is going to be happening at Bronx Library Center on April 20th.

Alison Stewart: There's also another discussion planned, focus on the stories of Chinese Americans that's happening on April 21st. Who will be the guest for that conversation?

Erica Parker: That's going to be a local author named [unintelligible 00:03:25] We love to be able to spotlight local authors in books during the festival. He'll be sharing his recent work and also talking a lot about his writing process.

Alison Stewart: There's a translation workshop feature. Tell us more about that.

Erica Parker: This is going to be super cool.

Alison Stewart: That's cool.

Erica Parker: It's one of my favorite events. Danny is a celebrated translator who's going to be sharing some tips and tricks if somebody speaks a second language and they're interested in dipping their toes into the world of translation. She'll be offering some prompts and some guidance so that people can get experience translating a passage into a second language and talking a little bit about style and some of the things that you think about when translating.

Alison Stewart: That's Danny Jones and it's happening on April 22nd. April, it's National Poetry Month, as you know. What kind of poetry events will be featured.

Erica Parker: We've got some really fun poetry events in the mix. My favorite is one that's called Otras Diásporas: Latin American Literature in Translation. That's a partnership that we're doing with Ugly Duckling Presse. They have a chapbook series featuring Latin American literature in translation, and it's going to be on April 29th at Woodstock Library in the Bronx.

Alison Stewart: There aren't just book talks. You have musical performances as well. What can you tell us about some of the music that we'll hear?

Erica Parker: The music is going to be really special. Our kickoff event, which is happening actually this Wednesday at SNFL, home to the Get Lit Book Club. We're also doing a program called the Living Library: An Evening of Indian Classical Music & Dance, and that's going to feature traditional Indian musical traditions. It's going to feature drumming along with live dance performances as well. It's all going to be about the interaction between these different art forms.

Alison Stewart: We're talking about the New York Public Library's annual World Literature and Arts Festival, which kicks off Wednesday and runs through April 30th. My guest is Erica Parker, associate director of adult cultural programming at the library. We're also talking about the list of 12 translated books that have unlimited e-copies available to borrow as part of the festival. Listeners, we want your recommendations as well. What's a book translated from another language that you want to recommend? Our phone lines are open. 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. Let's talk to Judy from New Rochelle. Hey, Judy. Thanks for calling All Of It. You're on the air.

Judy: I've become addicted to an author whose name is Kego, K-E-I-G-O, Higashino, H-I-G-A-S-H-I-N-O. So far I've read nine of his books. They are murder mysteries. I've read four in a series about one detective and five about another. They really hook you. They have almost a Hitchcockian feel to them. They're just wonderful.

Alison Stewart: Thank you so much for calling in, Judy. Erica, let's get to your list. I want to start with a series that has been gripping readers right now. It's called On the Calculation of Volume. You're offering Volume 1, but a few more have been published. They're translated from Danish. What are these stories about?

Erica Parker: This is such a buzzy series. It's actually about the same day happening over and over. Tara Selter, the heroine of the book, she's involuntarily stepped off the train of time basically. In her world, the date November 18th is just going on and on. We meet her on her 122nd November 18th. Time is blurring together for her. Over the course of the books, you see how she's reacting and thinking through time, experiencing the same day over and over.

Alison Stewart: One of the books you're offering unlimited e-copies of is called I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. She's Belgian. This book was originally published, I believe, in 1995. It's become very popular with readers in the past few years. Why do you think it's become so popular in the past few years?

Erica Parker: I think there are a couple reasons. One is the Transit Books edition that came out recently is absolutely beautiful. It's got this iconic graphic cover which is perfect for a subway read. Also, it is dystopian and very stirring, but in a way that doesn't feel completely hopeless. I think in this moment where people are both looking for something that has a sliver of reality and looking for something that has a sliver of something else, it's speaking to our moment.

Alison Stewart: Up next is a novel from the Korean writer Han Kang, who recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature. You've selected her novel The Vegetarian. Why was this the novel of Kang's that you wanted to feature?

Erica Parker: The Vegetarian is her best known book. It is the book that really made her a figure in the US. Folks hadn't read her work here much before. It is a story that's very provocative because it's about a woman who decides to stop eating meat after she has these terrible nightmares and then all of these bizarre events happen afterward. It rounded out our list really nicely because it has such a surrealist edge to it.

Alison Stewart: We got a great text here that says, "I love learning about a new place through social, political, and environmental factors that throw new layers to the plot. Specifically, international mystery and crime are fascinating to me. My favorite international mystery series is obviously the Millennium series, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but my current favorite is international mystery author Viveca Sten and her Are Murder series." This also says, "My favorite part about reading translated literature is to see my world in a very different way." Those are great comments from our listeners.

Erica Parker: Love that. That is exactly why we read.

Alison Stewart: Another popular novel on your list is Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated from Japanese. I read that this one is a slow burn. What is it about?

Erica Parker: This one is a really fun and strange book. It has been the runaway hit in terms of we've had thousands of circulations of this book. People are very into it. It's basically a cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and a serial killer, a female serial killer at that, and the journalist who's intent on cracking her case wide open. It is a really fun, breezy reading.

Alison Stewart: A lot of the list is fiction, but you do have a memoir in there. Sad Tiger, which was translated from French, is about a delicate topic, the author's sexual abuse as a child by her stepfather. How does this author approach writing about this very delicate topic?

Erica Parker: She approaches it in this really sensitive and unique way. It's built on these series of facts because she was seven years old when her stepfather started sexually abusing her. At 19 she decided to bring this to light and start talking about it. It had led to a public trial and prison for her stepfather and she started a new life in Mexico. She decides to really take a slightly experimental approach, talking about this kind of fragmented narrative where you get these little glimmers of thoughts and perspective, which I think has been really resonant for some people who have experienced trauma.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Donna from Mount Olive, New Jersey. Donna, you're our last caller.

Donna: Hi, Alison. How are you? I'm a first time caller. Love your show. Have been listening to it for years. The book that I wanted to share is Like Water for Chocolate. It's a book that I read many years ago, have listened to multiple times. It's a story about a young woman named Tita and she is the star of the book.

Alison Stewart: Wow.

Donna: When she cooks, she notices that her emotions, whatever they are, flow into her food. I have found, through my experience, that is something that happens too. It's just a very, very magical book. There's a whole lot more to the story than that, but that's how it has touched my life. I think anyone who loves Hispanic culture and cooking would love to read that book.

Alison Stewart: It's such a good book. Thank you so much for joining us. I have been talking to Erica Parker, associate director of adult cultural programming at the library. We've been Talking about the NYPL's annual World Literature & Arts Festival. Where can people get more information?

Erica Parker: They can go right to our website at nypl.org/WorldLitArtsFest for all the events, unlimited licensing, and lots more.

Alison Stewart: Erica, thanks for joining us.

Erica Parker: Thanks so much.

Alison Stewart: That is All Of It. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you. I'll meet you back here tomorrow.

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